After missing 12 games with an injury, Tanner Jeannot returned to action in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s most recent game. Unfortunately his return didn’t last long. The forward was on the ice for just 5:44 and didn’t take a shift in the third period against the Boston Bruins.
Watching his final shift of the night, which came with 1:41 left in the second period, nothing seemed amiss. He was skating okay and went to the bench on a line change with 49 seconds left. With a length of 52 seconds, it was the longest of the 8 shifts he took on the night.
Delving into the scoresheet a little further, it appears that his linemate, Mitchell Chaffee, was only on the ice for three shifts in the third period, and the 1:46 of ice time was the lowest he had in any of the three periods. Luke Glendening, their center, seemed to take his regular shifts. It is worth noting that the Lightning were shorthanded three times in the third period and neither Jeannot or Chaffee kills penalties. Jeannot, who has been a regular on the second power play unit, did not register any power play time during the Lightning’s three chances with the man advantage throughout the night.
There is a chance that Coach Cooper shortened his bench in a close game against a division rival and Jeannot is perfectly healthy. With the Lightning having Wednesday off, there was no update on his availability. That leaves us with the morning skate later today, and if that is optional, we have to wait all the way until warm-ups to see what his status is for the game.
Hopefully, he didn’t aggravate whatever injury he had or suffer a new one a la Mikhail Sergachev in his brief return to action. While he might be producing as much as some fans want, Jeannot is a vital part of the bottom-six and the Lightning will need him down the stretch.
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